B.C. Election 2020: Health officer says months of work have gone into holding a safe election

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On Tuesday, Henry and Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman will provide details on how the 2020 provincial election will be held safely — including information on how voting can occur in First Nations communities, rural and remote communities and for people in long-term care homes.

Henry said that mail-in voting would likely be very popular this election.

“We’ve understood from elections that have happened in New Brunswick and in other parts of the world during this pandemic that mail-in is an option that a lot more people will opt for,” she said.

B.C. has 1,987 active cases of COVID-19, with 60 of those cases in hospital including 21 in intensive care. There were 366 new cases reported between noon last Friday and noon Monday and four deaths.

On Monday, Premier John Horgan pushed back at the apparent contradiction between Henry encouraging people to “pull back” on social contacts at a time when he’s launching the largest public engagement process possible in an election.

He said the biggest challenge is people disregarding health advice, not an election.

B.C. has the highest per capita number of COVID-19 cases in Canada, but Horgan countered that by saying the province has had a very low rate of positives during COVID-19 testing.

B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau are opposed to the Oct. 24 election on grounds that it could put people’s lives at risk as they go out to vote.

Henry also addressed news that Quebec has officially declared the second wave of the pandemic has hit that province, saying the situation in B.C. is different.